Förster

A team of Dutch and German researchers under the leadership of Albert Heck and Friedrich Förster has discovered the operation of one of the oldest biological clocks in the world, which is crucial for life on earth as we know it. The researcher from the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry and the Utrecht University applied a new combination of cutting-edge research techniques. They discovered how the biological clock in cyanobacteria works in detail. Important to understand life, because cyanobacteria were the first organisms on earth producing oxygen via photosynthesis. The results of their research were published in Science. more

Molecular machines made out of proteins are involved in virtually all processes of life. Proteins are produced in ribosomes, the protein factories. All proteins, which later get incorporated into membranes, leave the ribosome through the Sec61 channel. With the help of the latest developments in electron microscopy, researchers of the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Martinsried have succeeded in imaging Sec61 in its natural environment in detail. Their research reveals the exact structure of the Sec61 channel and its mode of operation. An important improvement, because an erroneous transport of proteins has far-reaching effects. The results of the study were published in Nature Communications. more

Proteins are the molecular building blocks and machines of the cell which are involved in virtually every process of life. After protein production, many proteins are equipped with attachments such as sugar residues in order to perform their tasks properly. This process is directly coupled to the transport across a membrane. Employing various methods of structural biology, scientists at the Max Planck Institute (MPI) of Biochemistry have now gained insights into the architecture of the protein complex (ER translocon) responsible for this process. The results of the joint project carried out with colleagues at the University Hospital Homburg an der Saar and the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München have now been published in Nature Communications. more